Ruby Amanfu

Born in Ghana and then based in Nashville, Tennessee, Ruby Amanfu is a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, actress, private chef, and food blogger. Amanfu moved to Nashville with her family when she was 3 years old. She soaked up the sights and sounds of Music City, entering her first talent show in the third grade. In her second year of high school, she joined The Nashville Symphony Chorus at the age of 15, the youngest person to ever do so. Her first album, So Now the Whole World Knows (1998), was recorded while she was still in high school. She signed with Spongebath Records and released the hit single “Sugah”, co-written by Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Tommy Sims. The popularity of the single led to her signing with Interscope (in the U.S.) and Polydor (in the UK). Her second album, Smoke & Honey, was released in 2003. She met fellow songwriter Sam Brooker and they began writing songs together. The duo began recording and touring as Sam & Ruby, releasing the two EPs and one album, The Here and the Now (2009), before parting ways in 2010. Amanfu then collaborated with a wide array of artists including Norah Jones, Kelly Clarkson, Wanda Jackson, Ben Folds, Patti Labelle, Dan Wilson, Seasick Steve, Jason Isbell, and many others. She then began working with Jack White, appearing on his first solo album Blunderbuss (2012). She also released her The Simple Sessions EP. She joined White’s all-girl backing band The Peacocks during the Blunderbuss tour. Standing Still, her first solo album in 12 years and her third overall, was released in 2015. She continued to tour and record with other artists, including co-writing – with her husband Sam Ashworth - the Grammy-nominated song “Hard Place” for H.E.R. In between her musical ventures, she’s an elected Grammy Board Governor and has appeared on The Food Network as well as the CMT television series Nashville.